The Good Guy Complex
by MisCongANNIality
Summary: WILSONOC. There are few that can resist the charm of Dr. James Wilson, but what will happen whenever he finds himself enamored with someone else? Perhaps struggling to be 'the good guy' will help him discover something real.
1. Chapter 1

**THE GOOD GUY COMPLEX Edited CHAPTER 1**

* * *

Casanova. That was what one of the more audacious nurses in the Oncology department had dubbed him, and it had spread like wildfire throughout the years. And to them, this wasn't an insult, rather an honor, for all of the women inevitably were charmed by him in some way, shape, or form. They all had succumbed to his appeal, and secretly wished that his flirtatious manner meant more than what it did. They loved his charm and his boyish innocence, because they all knew that it was something that came natural to Dr. James Wilson. And what was not to love? A man filled with caring and kindness, perhaps a tad bit of a hero complex, Dr. Wilson was always known as the good guy. Inevitably, each female nurse had fallen for him at some point during their career at Princeton-Plainsboro and each nurse had a good reason to. The moniker Casanova was one that each one of them adored and admired. The entire female division of the department was impressed. 

Except for one woman, and most others found it highly coincidental that she shared the same name as his ex-wife.

It wasn't that Julie disliked her boss, she just had never cared to get caught up in such things. She was a quiet character, and even her remarkable good looks couldn't have broken the barriers that this introvert had established. Her job was her job, and she took great pleasure in providing comforts to sick patients, hoping to make their last days as good as possible. She loved helping people, and perhaps it was her innocent and good nature that kept her at a distance, because she refused to get caught up in the games that most women played. She was cheerful and optimistic, always seen with a bright smile on her face and everyone loved her, but her connections with them ended there. She was a shy creature, and being alone was something she enjoyed. Even when she was with others, she wasn't really, instead she was lost deep in her own mind where she lived a rich life.

Casanova. It was a nickname that she laughed about with her peers, but was nothing more to this woman. Perhaps it was nativity, or perhaps it was simply a lack of understanding on her part...because she really couldn't tell anyone what it was like to be charmed by James Wilson. He had never attempted to break her walls, and she didn't mind in the least. She supposed that it was because of her quiet nature, and while others sent out subconscious invitations she had always preferred to keep work at work.

Dr. Wilson had never really looked at Julie under any pretense that wasn't completely professional. Well, perhaps this wasn't entirely true, for he had found she was very, very nice to look at, with long and thick golden hair that was adorned with large, curly waves, and a smile that could always catch his eye. A more fitting statement would be that Dr. Wilson had never really _spoken_ to Julie under any pretense that wasn't completely professional. There was something that always made him stop, something that made him keep his distance. Around her he tried extra hard to be the good guy, to keep his speech edited and monitored. He could sense this was how she wanted it to be, and he had dropped the issue long ago. With any other he probably would have seen this as a challenge, but perhaps that was because there weren't any other women that he had encountered that were as genuine as his blue eyed department nurse. She played no games, and that was something that he had come to respect early.

Yes, Julie had managed to stay out of pretty much everyone's radar. Except for two men.

And it was no fortuity that the two were best friends.

* * *

In a very House-like manner, House was interested because Wilson was _not_ interested, and like any reasonable misanthrope he wanted to know why. Of course, House was also interested because he knew that deep down Wilson really did pay attention to his sweet nurse, yet still didn't act on his curiosity. 

"You know, there's irony to be found in the fact that the one women in the whole hospital that isn't interested in you shares the same name as your recently-proclaimed-ex-wife." This came up over lunch one day. It was inevitable, Wilson supposed as the two sat outside eating and talking and making fun of random things that had recently struck House's distastes. The woman in question sat a few tables away smiling and sitting with Danielle, a fellow nurse.

"Stop it, House" But of course Wilson's warning went ignored.

"I find it rather interesting too, how she can sit there and pretend that she's actually listening to her chatterbox friend talk about how gorgeous their department head is and still look polite. Id probably be gagging by now if I was her"

This at least earned half of a chuckle from Wilson. "Right, because I'm sure they don't have anything better to talk about than my stunning good looks and boyish charm."

House simply shrugged. "Well, it's a boring hospital."

There was a pause that lasted a moment or two, in which Wilson continued to eat and House flipped through the latest edition of People Magazine. It seemed as if the topic had been dropped, but anyone that knew House as well as Wilson did would have been prepared for round two.

"There are a dozen and ten good looking women in this hospital and she has them all beat. What I want to know is why you haven't hit on her. I mean, call me superficial but she would be the first one that I would try to tap." There was a smirk cast upon House's features and it came with his last statement, for he knew that his words would warrant some kind of response from his best friend.

The response was more like a hiss, and Wilson glared at him all the while silently cursing his gift for exaggeration. House had a way of taking things and stating them in the least eloquent way possible, and because of that Wilson just rolled his eyes and attempted to defend himself. "You really are an ass."

"So I've been told. But that doesn't make my logic any less true."

Wilson sighed. He wasn't going to win, not that he had expected to in the first place. "I don't know what to tell you, I'm just not interested. And even if I was, don't you think that she is a bit out of my league?"

House scoffed, sending one of his exasperated looks to Wilson. "She's pretty much out of everyone's league...except for maybe" He hesitated, looking down and flipping through his People Magazine. He went through the pages rather quickly, but he paused on a few and tipped his head as if he was examining them closely before finally shrugging and closing it, "Nope I was right, she's definitely got the entire world beat."

Wilson simply laughed as the two of them went back to staring and eating and staring and jibing and staring. Meanwhile the object of their conversation had finished her lunch and had stood up, following her acquaintance back into the hospital. As she passed their table, she smiled brightly and cheerfully greeted them as she walked by, and her speech was accompanied by a nod, "Dr. House. Dr. Wilson."

She was rewarded with a nod from the both of them, though Wilson's smile was a tad bit friendlier than House's grunt. Once out of range, House smirked and looked over at his companion, "See, she was practically begging you to get into bed with her."

Wilson stared at House incredulously and shook his head as if he had given up on his friend a long time ago and didn't understand why he still even bothered. "Good God, you're unbelievable."


	2. Chapter 2

There wasn't a soul in the hospital that would have been surprised to hear that House was bored, for this had become the norm during the past few weeks and there had been only a few cases in which for him to indulge his mind. He had spent most of his time in various odd places, hiding out from his nagging boss and watching _General Hospital, _and it was said that he had been spotted in the maternity ward, random empty exam rooms, visiting with coma patients, in the chapel, and in the bathrooms but of course everyone had stopped keeping track long ago. They all shrugged when Cuddy questioned them, mentioning the last known location and paying little attention to her retorts about how he was going to get what was coming to him one day. It was just normal, and everyone except the Dean of Medicine had accepted that.

But today House's miseries would be over, or at least the ones that related to his lack of a caseload. Today Cameron had taken the initiative to bring a man to House's attention, and if only she could find the bastard then perhaps she could do the whole team a favor by putting an end to their temporary boredom. She had been searching for him for quite some time, and had checked all of the usual spots with no luck until finally spotting him through the blinds of a 'deserted' room. Opening the door she slipped inside, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness that suddenly engulfed her from all angles. Carrying the file and putting it in his hands, she noted the _General_ _Hospital _playing on the TV and rolled her eyes as she stared up at two amazingly good looking people making out. She wanted to look away and make some remark but soon she found herself interested in the scene and she cocked her head sideways a bit staring unashamedly at the screen, fascinated. "Wow, they are pretty good at that."

House, who had been looking at the file stood up in the meantime and made his way towards the door. He motioned for her to follow and was unable to resist throwing in a comment as he slid out the door with Cameron right behind. "Don't be jealous, no one could live up to those standards. Of course if you want to prove me wrong, I do have blinds in my glass office."

They came to the conference room, Cameron taking a seat as House walked, or hobbled rather, over to the coffeepot and then to the whiteboard. Chase and Foreman were already there. "Alright, we have only two symptoms; one is so common they even felt the need to put the word 'common' before it, and the other probably has nothing to do with the former but since we are bored lets play around with it." He said this, all the while writing "Old Guy" on the whiteboard with the words "cold" and "stroke" underneath it. He scratched his head and looked at the board for just a moment, soon diverting his gaze to his team and smirking at their blank faces.

Chase was the one to speak next, "I don't understand. The guy had a stroke, and he has a cold. Wow. Why are we talking about this?"

"Because Cameron brought a case to me...and I see something here."

(DUNDUNDUN) :D

* * *

When one is empty, they are void of everything solid, lost in a world that they cannot control and thrown down a perilous path with no real reason to travel it. They do, of course, because there is nothing else left, and they journey through life without really living it for that is all that they know how to do. A last resort, one last chance to make things right. During this time, some find God, others seek solace in what few decent friendships that they have intact, and what decrepid relationships that they haven't cut themselves off from. Lost in deep seas of depression they go through life without feeling or emotion, because the simple task of caring has grown too troublesome and painful. They don't want to hurt anymore, want to cast away their fears and their thoughts into the black waters where they will drift away, but still they do. It is inevitable because to deliberately ignore something is to admit to it's existence.

To say that Dr. James Wilson was empty may have been a stretch, but there was no denying that frustration ever present in his eyes and the turmoil that raged within, threatening to bubble over and break him. But he wasn't that weak, and this he told himself every day as he walked through life with a kind and caring smile on his face. Perhaps if he gave his heart to others in the form of genuine concern, perhaps if he did everything he could to bring comfort to the ones who depended on him, he could find comfort himself and find solace in knowing that he saved lives. And he did save lives, dozens and dozens infact.

But he couldn't save his own.

While he had tried, efforts were beginning to prove fruitless, and with three failed marriages being all he had to show for his aspirations, he was losing hope because shelters from the storm were proving to be few and far between. He didn't know where else to turn, was at a loss for where he was to go from here, so he carried out each day the same as he lost himself in the patterns of normalcy. It wasn't much, but it was something and to him it was about all that he had left. It was a subconscious action, and he probably wasn't even aware of the fact that he had thrown in the white flag and had given up...but he had.

And he was happy with this, content with living and flirting and working and eating, content without feeling life as it passed him by. If he chose not to care about emotions then he couldn't be disappointed when they were only painful. Chase's theory, once applied and tested during his own struggles with his father, working at it's best, and while it wasn't exactly rewarding, it was enough for him.

He sat in his office contemplating all of this, propped back in his chair with his chin in one hand, apparently staring off into space. He was lost in his own realm, oblivious to the rest of the world and anything that may have been going on. Luckily there was little happening and he was left in peace. At least for a while.

"Dr. Wilson." A voice knocked him out of his trance, and he came to attention rather quickly and in a startled state he rocked forward onto all four chair legs and looked to its source. He hadn't heard her come in, obviously, but Julie stood in front of him with a hesitant look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

He shook his head, still a bit disoriented. "No, it's okay, I was just..." He allowed his voice to trail off for a second, because the man wasn't sure really what he had been doing.

She wanted to chuckle, but stifled it and instead smiled and decided to move on. "Dr. House sent me to get you, he's up in his conference room."

Immediately his eyebrows raised. House had sent her? That would be just like him, considering his fascination with the fact that Wilson had avoided her except when it came to their work. He probably should have been surprised, but he had learned by now never to underestimate his best friend. "Oh God I'm sorry, he didn't...make you cry or anything did he?"

The nurse simply laughed, "Well I'm trying to recover, but it's a long road. Actually he was fairly nice considering the fact that all he said, or shouted down the hall rather, was something along the lines of: 'Hey nurse, go get my homeboy Jimmy.'"

Her impression of House was awful, and Wilson couldn't help but stare at her as she attempted to make her voice low and manly. He hadn't ever noticed her sense of humor before, but he did now. She had always been so quiet, and this new character he was discovering was a pleasant surprise to him. Mentally he scolded himself for even thinking such thoughts, he hated it when House was right but he laughed despite of himself.

She continued. "I like Dr. House, he is funny. From what I have seen, I think there is a good heart underneath that grouchy mask he wears."

He nodded, and this was another thing that he certainly hadn't expected. Normally people's impressions of House, before really getting to know him that is, and usually even after, was that he was just a big jerkoff. He spoke as they both began to walk out of his office and part ways, "You're right, but it's hard to remember that whenever he eats your lunch and you want to strangle him."

She just laughed as she walked away to attend to her duties. "Love him and hate him at the same time. Bye Dr. Wilson."

* * *

It didn't take long for Wilson to make it upstairs and to the conference room, and when he entered it he found Foreman, Cameron, and Chase sitting at the table with House standing in his usual position near the whiteboard. Apparently they had been discussing a diagnosis, and as he opened the door and slipped in they all looked at him. When he came to a stop he made his best attempt at a glare, and directed it towards House. "Why didn't you just page me?" 

House gave one of his house-like expressions and shrugged his shoulders innocently, taking his pager out of his pocket and cocking his head sideways as if he was trying to examine it. "Sorry, I think it's broken. What, you didn't like my approach?"

Wilson just rolled his eyes in defeat, and he did it with some amount of dignity for they all had learned that there really wasn't any other alternative when it came to House. The ducklings watched the scene curiously, the three of them all apparently aware that they had missed something and it was Wilson who attempted to get their attentions directed away from him. "Don't worry about it."

"65 year old male, presenting with symptoms of a stroke and a cough. Apparently he was walking to his car and he collapsed. Are 65 year old people allowed to still drive? Wow that's funn--"

He was cut off by Wilson who scoffed at him and spoke quickly. "_This_ is what you called me up here for? An old man who has a cold?"

Putting both hands on the top of his cane and leaning forward onto it he looked at Wilson, "What, were you busy down there with your nurse?"

Wilson just shook his head incredulously, turning around getting ready to leave.

"You don't think there's anything more?" House had that sparkle in his eyes as he silently challenged his best friend, and Wilson turned back around with a skeptical look on his face.

"So he had a cough! I know you want everything to be interesting so you can feed your sick appetite for drama, but the man is 65 House, come on, even you have to admit that the chances of an old man getting a cold are slightly higher than your crazy theories!"

None of them understood what it was about House that caused him to come up with the ideas that he did, and none of them understood how such a man could almost always end up being right. They all regarded him with a love/hate relationship, and they oftentimes made jokes about not being able to live with him but...well that was about all there was to it. But his talent for thinking outside of the box and solving the rubix cubes that no one else could were never ignored, and it was what got him as far as it did in life. This is why Wilson sighed, pissed that his time was being wasted like this but pinned in his position because of his own curiosity.

"There's more to this, I know it."

* * *

Please review, right now I'm looking at 8 chapters but I would like some input because I want to know if you guys think I should keep going. I reeeeeeeeeeally would like some input, I will give you a dollar. tehe. 


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